Random Things About Life :)

So today I got back from the shore. My aunt and uncle own a house down there and we often visit them. The picture on my profile of the dog jumping into the water (which is actually a lagoon) is their dog; his name is Stanley. They also have an older dog named Wilbur. Speaking of Wilbur, I have a dog pillow pet named Wibby. (or, for long Wilbur) They live on the bay side so we have to drive to get to the beach.

While I was at the shore, we went to the beach and we did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS. In case you didn't know, there have been shark attacks in New Jersey recently. Something else you probably didn't know was that in 2010 (5 years ago) there were 79 shark attacks. Probably to your surprise around 5,600 people are diagnosed with ALS every SINGLE year. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis. It was discovered in 1869 by a neurologist (a woman I might add :D ). But, it wasn't REALLY recognized until Lou Gehrig, a Yankees baseball player, was diagnosed with ALS in 1939.

What does ALS do to you?

ALS makes your motor neurons unable to function, eventually stopping your heart and you die. My mom's mom died from ALS when my mom was 20 years old. My aunt was diagnosed with ALS in 2011. ALS has made my aunt inable to walk. She uses a motorized wheelchair to move around. She can't lift her hands above her upper arms and can barely type. She needs a pad (not a menstrual pad) on her fork so she can eat. She cannot shower herself and someone has to lift her on and off of the toilet. Thankfully, she only needs to be on the toilet to poop because she has a cathoder. (A cathoder lets you pee into a tube inside of you that travels into a "pee" bag.)

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

I did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which is where you dump a bucket of ice water over your head and nominate others to do it to raise awareness for ALS. You can also donate to the ALS Association to help the cause. I challenge anyone who reads this to take the challenge. I did it on the beach and others I didn't know joined me and my family to make an amazing video of all of us taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Is There A Cure?

No. There is no cure for ALS, sadly. We also don't know what causes it... but if you want to find out more head to http://www.alsa.org/ It would be greatly appreciated.

If you have read this far, thank you and I am sorry if I made you sad or want to pity me. The reason for this is to let others know about ALS and how horrible it is.